I'm thinking it's the chicken and the egg..

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/...earlybird.html
Sooo, these kids aren't fat because they didn't exercise; they don't exercise because they're fat? Anybody else think this is actually a case of the chicken and the egg (which came first)? I'm thinking it's mostly the way the kids eat/ are fed, with a sedentary lifestyle being the kicker, but then again, I was always the scary- skinny kid, so I wouldn't know from experience. What do y'all think?

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Good observation. CW says the chicken, and Taubes and other contrarians will usually state bluntly that it is the egg first, which is closer to the truth, however it is indeed both simultaneously, caused by simply poor diet, not eating too much, since leptin regulates hunger and weight. But once shit is broken it is self-perpetuating if left unchecked.

Inflammation, nutrient shortages and other bad stuff->leptin and insulin resistance
Leptin resistance->accumulation of fat->insulin resistance
Insulin resistance->increased de novo lipogenesis and interference with leptin signaling and inflammation of sorts->leptin resistance and insulin resistance

Both mean more hunger and less energy. So we're in a spiraling square-dance of metabolic doom

And of course I'm over-simplifying (Molgrok could likely come up with a badass flow-chart ) and there are lots of other factors like the thyroid and whatnot, but clearly the chicken fucks the egg and the egg fucks the chicken and they make more eggs and chickens.

edit: and I agree that exercise is important to a degree. Certainly for optimal health, but it also reduces inflammation and increases insulin sensitivity so it is one more factor working in our favor.